I have not baked a whole lot lately because my pantry seems to to full of goodies from the kids' week long visit with Grandma and Pa. My kids love it when Grandma and Pa come to visit and supply them with an endless amount of whatever they want! Not that I don't buy treats from time to time, but they know they can get whatever they want when their grandparents watch them! So, today I decided to get in the kitchen and bake. I had a stressful day and needed some baking therapy. I started looking around, randomly, at some of my favorite blogs and came across these and these. I knew right away that I needed to give a version of them a try since I can't go wrong with cinnamon and sugar. I, of course, wanted a healthier version and also dairy free, so I played around with some ingredients I had around the kitchen. The original recipes called this a Snickerdoodle Bar, but because of the ingredient adjustments I made, it turned out to be a little more cakey. I could have baked them a little less to make them a little more gooey, but either way...they are delicious!

I have really become a lover of the pressure cooker! As I mentioned before, I have always been afraid of them, but after my experience with the DVD, I have become a complete and total fan! Our family eats a lot of beans. On top of being cheap, they are so good for you! Not to mention that you can use them in so many ways. I love eating them over rice, over steamed cabbage, as a dip, in a salad, in a tortilla, in soup or as a burger (I think you get the idea). Seriously, you can make a pot of beans and eat them in a different way every night of the week and not even know that you are eating the same thing over and over again! Since I discovered the ease and simplicity of the ever scary pressure cooker, I have learned how to make them on the fly. It is so nice to decide you want beans and be able to make them within 15 minutes start to finish! These are the same foods that you used to have to prepare yourself the day before and cook for hours before you can enjoy them! I will continue to post the different beans as I try them out, but my first love is the sweet little black eyed pea. I may not be the good little southern girl that loves fried chicken, but I do love me some good 'ol black eyed peas.

Combine everything in the pressure cooker. Seal and bring to pressure. Turn to medium high and maintain pressure for 9 minutes. Quick release (if you have a valve for that) or place the pot under cold water until pressure is released. Pour of the amount of liquid you don't want (there is much debate about that in this house). Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

I received the book Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for all Seasons by Nava Atlas in the mail the day before I left to go to New York for a week. I skimmed it to see what I would start with (because I can’t bare to not look at cookbooks). I started book marking the recipes immediately. There are quite a few that I really like the sound of and am anxious to give them a try. The book is laid out by seasons, which like, because I really like the idea of cooking seasonally. The book also contains recipes for breads that go well with the soups and stews. That makes is easy to find a good accompaniment so you don’t have to search all over for something to go with the main dish. I also like the fact that it gives you nutritional information. I always feel better knowing the nutritional breakdown of recipes before I get started. I wish that it had more photos simply because I prefer cookbooks with photos, but that is just me. I don’t know why, but I guess I like being able to see what the end product looks like. Not to mention the fact that it helps me convince the masses here that is looks good enough to try!

Although it is winter, I chose to make the Cool Ratatouille first. It has been quite warm here lately, so trying to get in the mood for hot soups and stews has been really hard. Also, after having been gone for a week, I really needed some fresh vegetables! I did have to alter the herbs a little (I used fresh rosemary from my yard) due to the fact that I could not find fresh basil or thyme at either store I went to today. I have to say that we were all very impressed. The vegetables were perfect! It was a really nice lite meal and I think this particular recipe is pretty versatile. I also had some chopping therapy while making this recipe and I really enjoyed every minute of it from start to finish! I loved this recipe and can’t wait to try out more! I highly recommend this book!

I always like to make special little things for breakfast when we have guests stay at our house. I saw this recipe for Maple Breakfast Cake on Everybody Likes Sandwiches and knew I would have to give it a try! I wanted to try them out as little bite sized treats to go along with a larger breakfast. These little sweets taste like little tiny pancakes. They are perfect to go along with a brunch or as a quick way to eat pancakes on the go! Yum!

I am so happy to be home right now! I went with the illustrator to New York this past week to promote his illustration work. I love New York and I am already ready to go back, but sitting here in the comfort of my own house is so nice! Before I left, I made a few things that I am really happy with, but would like to make again to make sure they are the best they can be! My ice cream experiment was a huge success! It was all natural, low calorie, low fat and stayed creamy for as long as it was in the freezer (three days for that round). I also made homemade pizza crust that was fat free and so good! It was the perfect amount of crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside! I do want to play with both recipes a little more though, just to make sure. So, for now, I will just share the photos I took! I can promise you that I will be in the kitchen this week playing with both recipes and more!(This was a supper easy veggie pizza. I know it has no cheese on it, but I did not have any and it was quick...but delicious!)